The state’s World War II Memorial will be placed in a park in the shadow of the Statehouse in Trenton.

The memorial will pay tribute to the more than half a million New Jersey residents who served in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II, the state’s largest contribution of manpower to a war effort.

The memorial design by Robert Smith, the creator of the state’s Korean War Memorial in Atlantic City, calls for the transformation of the single-lot Veterans Park into a rotunda with a statue of the Lady Victory facing the Statehouse dome. The rotunda is to be framed by fountains, an amphitheater and two story-high walls.

Markers for all six branches of the military are to include the names of New Jersey Medal of Honor recipients. A timeline, images on walls and two electronic kiosks chosen by the commission that planned the monument will explain the important events of the war.

“They didn’t just want it to be a memorial in their honor. They also wanted it to be educational for future generations,” said Stephen G. Abel, state Veterans Affairs deputy commissioner.

The New Jersey World War II Commission spent four years planning the memorial.